When Senator Morris Sheppard of Texas died in office in the spring of 1941, a special election was held to fill the vacancy. Announcing his candidacy on the steps of the White House, Congressman Lyndon B. Johnson ran with the explicit backing of President Roosevelt, his political mentor. Identifying himself with Roosevelt's liberal policies, Johnson was out of step with the deeply conservative Texas Democratic base. His rival in the June primary was the conservative Dixiecrat, Governor W. Lee "Pappy" O'Daniel.

On election night, Johnson held a narrow lead, but released his vote tallies too soon, allowing O'Daniel time to "find" enough votes to defeat him. This experience hardened the young Congressman to the realities of Texas politics, and when running for the Senate again seven years later, he would use similar tactics to beat his primary rival.

An important pre-presidential item, we acquired this poster, one of only a small number in existence, from a source in Houston. An investment quality piece for the Johnson specialist.